How do high school labels relate to records management?

8/16/2010

In high school it seemed very important to be labeled; especially with a ‘cool’ label. Jocks, cheerleaders, geeks, nerds, etc… labels were part of everyday life so why aren’t labels part of your records? In science class I learned that all living things are labeled with 9 different labels of taxonomy. (Life, Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and Species in case you were wondering…) Labels help to identify your records so they can be located again for either retrieval or destruction.

Are 9 labels too much for your records? Probably; but what is the right amount? With the help of your records management company you should be able to figure that out. There should be enough labels to accurately locate your information quickly but not too many that it becomes an administrative burden to maintain. Labels should be clear, concise and transferable to your successor without cryptic notes for deciphering them. As for me, I grew out of my high school labels and I am enjoying my latest one, dad.